Through The Vineyards
by Anjana Bhargavan
Summary: Hermione find a two decade old letter during her stay in Italy and replies to it. Based on "Letters to Juliet"...
1. Chapter 1

It was a bright sunny day in Verona and everyone were going through their day-to-day activities. Among the hordes of local people and eager tourists was a curly-haired brunette walking down the Piazza delle Erbe and taking in the magnificent sights it offered.

Four years had passed since the final battle at Hogwarts and a lot had happened since then to Hermione Granger. After the war, she had set out to find her parents in Australia and restored their memories. She had also gone back to school and finished her seventh year. Her romance with Ron had been a very short one. Shortly after their kiss in the room of requirement they had started seeing each other, but only a few dates was all it took for her to see that they were better off as friends. They had broken off amicably and Ron now has a relationship with Lavender Brown.

Meanwhile, Hermione had started concentrating on her career at the ministry more. She was so immersed in her work that when Ginny and Luna had suggested her of taking a vacation, she jumped for it. A week had already passed since they had arrived in Italy and the girls were having a really good time.

Today, Hermione had decided to go and do some sightseeing while Ginny and Luna were shopping. Hermione was seeing the beautiful sights in Piazza delle Erbe, when she took a curve, and saw a lot of girls writing on papers. She stood and watched what they were doing. As she watched, she noticed that after writing they would fold the papers and stick it on or slip it into the cracks of an old huge wall.

When she was watching them, she noticed a woman come and collect all the letters from the wall and had started to leave. Intrigued she decided to follow her. She followed the women until she reached a building and called her.

"Mi scusi signora" she called out to her.

Hearing her the woman turned around and smiled, "Si"

"I am sorry, but I noticed you collect all the letters that those women wrote and leave. I was intrigued and followed you. Could you tell me what this is about?"

"These are the Letters to Juliet. What you just saw was Juliet's House. It is a tradition of writing letters to Juliet about one's love life and they hope to receive an answer for their letters. There are a group of women in this locality who call themselves as Secretaries to Juliet and reply to these letters. I belong to that group. Every day we come and collect the letters and reply to them."

"That's really nice of you"

"Thank you. Would you like to come with me and meet the others? My name is Elena by the way"

"I would love to join you. I'm Hermione Granger."

* * *

Elena had taken Hermione to her house where she had met three other women – Valeria, Bianca and Rachele. They had sat for a long time and chatted. Hermione was surprised by the dedication they had to the letters they replied. Elena had also offered a chance to join them while she was in Italy to reply to the letters, which she accepted instantly.

When Hermione had returned back to the hotel where the girls were waiting for her, she recounted her day's adventure excitedly. The following days were just the same, she would spend the day with the girls sightseeing and shopping, and by evening she would reach Elena's place and help the women reply to the letters. One such day when she was helping Elena collect the letters, she found an old letter placed below a loose brick. She opened it and saw that the letter was dated in the year of 1977. Surprised as why someone had not found the letter for all these years, she started reading it.

_10th June 1977_

_Dear Juliet,_

_They say that love is the most powerful thing in this world. I agree… I came to Italy on a vacation but found love. Juliet, I found my soul mate in my Antonio but my father has decided to get me married to man from my society back home. I don't want to lose my love but I'm scared to go against my father. Antonio wants me to elope with him, but I don't think I could do that to my family. My family is taking me back to England tonight and I can't meet Antonio. I don't want to leave Antonio in such a state. Juliet, I am in a fix. What should I do?_

_Daffodil_

"Elena, could you see this" she called Elena and handed over the letter.

Elena read it and looked at Hermione "I never saw this letter. What are we going to do? Are you going to reply to it?"

"Can we go back and think about it. We can discuss with the others".

When they returned they found Ginny and Luna along with Rachele, Valeria and Bianca chatting away gleefully. When they showed them the letter, they all agreed that Hermione should reply to the letter.

"Hermione, I think you should obviously reply to this letter. We may get to know what happened to her. I mean do you think she eloped with her Antonio or married the man her father wanted?" Luna questioned.

"Luna, I am all for Hermione replying as well, but are you sure it would reach her. It has been more than two decades since the letter was written. Would she even be living at the same address?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Hermione, I think you should reply to this letter. Whether the letter would reach her or not, we reply to all letters written to Juliet and it would also give you some closure" Bianca said. Listening to all of them, Hermione had decided she would write back to Daffodil and started penning her letter as everyone started writing their own letters.

_17th August 2002_

_Dear Daffodil,_

_I am extremely sorry for not replying to your letter on time. I came across your letter only today and was sad to hear about the situation you were placed in. As you said, love really is the most powerful thing in the world, but it also is the most painful thing as well. One can feel love in so many ways. You deeply fell in love with Antonio, but you also loved your family which put you in this situation._

_Daffodil, I don't know what to say to you after so many years about this. If you are still with your Antonio then I am extremely happy. If you followed your father's wishes and married another man then I hope you learnt to love him and living happily with your family._

_I want to say only one thing, no matter what had happened, Antonio deserves the truth. If you had really left Italy back to England that night without meeting Antonio then I really hope you had explained the situation to him. Love has no boundaries, Daffodil. If you truly loved Antonio then I am sure that the gods would bring you both together. Remember every story always has a happy ending, no matter how long it takes to end._

_Love,_

_Juliet._

Hermione read her letter before sealing it and writing the address. She placed it along with the rest of letters that were to be posted and felt anxious about whether the letter would reach its destination.

* * *

It had been a week since she had sent the letter and Hermione was feeling anxious. Her stay in Verona was coming to a close. She was returning back to London next week and she was having mixed feelings. One side she was happy that she was going to see Harry, Ron and the others but on other side she felt sad she would no longer be spending time with Elena and the others. She had become very close with them. Also, she wanted to know if her letter had reached Daffodil.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she had missed what Rachele had said.

"Hermione, Did you hear what I said?"

"Sorry Rachele, I wasn't listening."

"Well, I was telling you that there is a young man waiting outside and asking if he could meet the person who wrote the letter to Daffodil. I must say, he doesn't look that pleased".

"Oh! I will go and meet him."

Hermione was feeling very nervous in going to meet this person. She didn't know if she had caused any problems, but by the way Rachele had talked about the man it looked like she had caused some trouble. With butterflies in her stomach she walked out to meet the man waiting outside. She saw a tall man with blond hair waiting outside. When he heard her footsteps, he turned giving Hermione the shock of her life. There standing in front of her, with the letter in his hand was a very furious Draco Malfoy.

"Well, why is this not a surprise? Only you Granger would poke into others business and cause problems."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hermione was feeling very nervous in going to meet this person. She didn't know if she had caused any problems, but by the way Rachele had talked about the man it looked like she had caused some trouble. With butterflies in her stomach she walked out to meet the man waiting outside. She saw a tall man with blond hair waiting outside. When he heard her footsteps, he turned giving Hermione the shock of her life. There standing in front of her, with the letter in his hand was a very furious Draco Malfoy._

_"Well, why is this not a surprise? Only you Granger would poke into others business and cause problems."_

* * *

Hermione had last seen Malfoy during the trials when she testified for him, along with Harry and Ron. She had read about him in the papers of how he had worked hard to regain his name in the society. His company, Malfoy Industries, was one of the most successful businesses in the wizard world, even more successful than it had been during Lucius Malfoy's time. Never did she think she would have to see him again in such a situation. When she had wrote the letter she never even once had any second thoughts about it but now seeing the seething Draco Malfoy in front of her, she could only think about _why_ had she wrote it.

"Malfoy?"

Draco had simply not been having a good week. After the war, he had been given extensive counselling which had changed his perspective of life. After the war, his family name was in the gutters. His mother and he were pardoned thanks to that golden trio but his father was imprisoned and given the dementor's kiss. No sooner than that had he passed away in Azkaban. He had worked his ass off to make his family name respectable again and make Malfoy Industries successful. He had been living a satisfied life until last week and then that dreadful letter had reached his place. He had been waiting quite some time at this building to meet whichever mindless nitwit who thought it would be nice to reply back to letter written twenty years ago, when he heard footsteps and turned back.

There standing in front of him was the bane of his existence, Hermione Granger. 'Of course she would think it as her duty to reply back to such a letter! That bleeding Gryffindor just couldn't mind her own business could she? Anybody else would have thought it was pointless to write back but oh no not her... To think of it, that bloody letter even sounded like her '_every story always has a happy ending, no matter how long it takes to end_' How pathetic!'

"Why how nice of you to finally recognise me Granger! Now if you could be gracious enough, could you explain what the fuck were you thinking in replying to this letter?" Draco snarled.

"Me? I was thinking, Malfoy, that it would be nice to reply back to that woman as she was clearly in love and did not know what to do."

"Nice? Nice, Granger? Did it you even think what kind of problems this letter would have caused when it arrived."

Hermione just started at him. She never thought about what if Daffodil had married someone else and the letter was seen by him. She never even thought it would reach its destination after all these years.

"I didn't think it would reach the destination" she said guiltily.

"Are you really that dumb Granger? It doesn't take much to read this letter to understand she is a witch. I mean, society obviously means 'Pure Blood' and when _she_ meant go against her father; it meant _she_ wanted to marry a muggle. Are you really that short sighted? What _were_ you expecting? Some noble women falling in love with some pauper, like those muggle novels?"

Hermione really was feeling stupid. Now that she thought of it, what Malfoy was saying could be right; it could have been a witch who wrote that letter. But what she didn't understand was what the hell Malfoy was doing here...

"Malfoy, What are you doing here?" She asked him.

* * *

Draco glared at her and answered, "When she received your letter, she was taken aback by surprise. She read your stupid letter and started crying. I have never seen her cry like that. She showed me the letter and explained everything to me. She took your advice by the heart. She decided to come back to Italy and find that muggle and apologize. I of course didn't agree. It was one of the biggest arguments we have ever had. She said she would be coming here no matter what; so I had to concede with her and decided to accompany her to Italy. No thanks to you Granger."

"Wait, Daffodil is here in Italy? She came back to meet her Antonio? Malfoy that is so romantic..."

"Granger, have you lost it? This is so not romantic. She came here listening to your stupid letter. Have you even _thought_ what would happen when she meets him? What if he is married? What if he is sick with some grave illness? _WHAT IF HE IS DEAD?_" he shrieked.

Hermione stared at Malfoy. She was not able to understand who he was trying to protect. How was Daffodil related to Malfoy? She hated when she couldn't understand something quickly, so having Malfoy screaming at her like this had just stopped her brain working. He clearly loved Daffodil to such an extent he was considering her heartbreak if she found out Antonio was ill or something. The only person she considered Malfoy to love so much was his mother. Was Mrs. Malfoy really Daffodil? She could have written it in a pen name. It would also explain how the letter found her, and it would definitely explain Malfoy's anger. She was the only one he loved most in the world. Hadn't he tried to kill Professor Dumbledore to protect his mother? Had Mrs. Malfoy really been in love with a muggle? There was only one way to know.

"Malfoy?" She asked tentatively.

"What?" he snarled

"How are you related to Daffodil?" she asked

Draco just stared at Hermione. She looked so determined to know the identity of who she wrote to it. He just couldn't tell her. That bloody gryffindor would speak with her and would try to get more involved in this ridicules mission. He just couldn't have that. She had caused enough trouble.

"Sod off Granger. It's none of your business. You already have caused enough trouble. Next time just think twice before replying to any letters."

* * *

Saying those words, Draco just turned and left. Hermione after a minute of quick thinking had decided to follow Malfoy silently to see who Daffodil is. She thanked all those years of sneaking around Hogwarts with the boys without being seen, as it was an immense help today. Draco was walking really fast and she could barely catch up. She saw him taking a turn which would lead him to Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's House) and towards a middle aged woman. She walked hurriedly after him.

She walked silently inside and saw that her suspicions had come true. Mrs. Malfoy was there staring at Juliet's wall.

"Mrs. Malfoy?"

They both turned her, Draco with an irritated expression and Mrs. Malfoy surprised.

"Miss. Granger?"

"Mrs. Malfoy, I just wanted to meet you. See, it was I who wrote you that letter." Draco glared at her. "_Draco_ found me and insisted that I come and meet you" she added, smiling sweetly towards Draco.

Narcissa laughed at hearing this, an angelic sound that usually made Draco happy. His mother had suffered too much in life. "Miss. Granger, please call me Narcissa and I think I understand what you mean by _insisted to come and meet me_".

Hermione laughed at this. "Well then Narcissa, you need to call me Hermione then. Draco said you're here to meet your Antonio. Would you like to join me at my hotel for dinner? The girls would love to meet you"

"Sorry _Granger_, we are quite tired from the travel. So no thank you." Draco jumped in before Narcissa answered.

"Draco, don't be rude! Hermione, we would love to join you for dinner."

Draco huffed angrily. He simply was having a terrible week. He saw his mother happily chatting away with Granger as if they were old mates and realised that Hermione Granger was very much going to be a part of his mothers quest. Could life get any worse? Wait...

"Granger!"

Hermione turned her attention to him. "Who are these _girls_?"

She gave him a lecherous smile and said, "Why Malfoy, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood of course."

Of course life could get worse. Dinner with Granger would be torture enough, but dinner with Granger, She-Weasel and Loony Lovegood would be pure hell... The only thing he kept thinking was that 'Were the gods really that angry with him?'

* * *

_**Please review and let me now what you think about the story. This is my first fan fiction so please feel free to give your honest opinions.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_Draco huffed angrily. He simply was having a terrible week. He saw his mother happily chatting away with Granger as if they were old mates and realised that Hermione Granger was very much going to be a part of his mothers quest. Could life get any worse? Wait..._

_"Granger!"_

_Hermione turned her attention to him. "Who are these girls?"_

_She gave him a lecherous smile and said, "Why Malfoy, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood of course."_

_Of course life could get worse. Dinner with Granger would be torture enough, but dinner with Granger, She-Weasel and Loony Lovegood would be pure hell... The only thing he kept thinking was that 'Were the gods really that angry with him?'_

* * *

Ginny and Luna were waiting for Hermione to return back to the Inn they were staying at, when they saw that she had returned back with two unexpected guests. To say that they found the fact that Narcissa Malfoy was Daffodil a surprise would not be fair. It was the most shocking thing they had ever heard. The just couldn't understand how Narcissa Malfoy, a pureblood aristocrat, had fallen in love with a muggle. It was like hell had frozen over. They had settled down in a secluded part of the restaurant in the inn and were conversing with each other.

"Mrs. Malfoy, we just can't believe that you're Daffodil!" Ginny exclaimed

"It does explain the name. Doesn't Narcissa mean Daffodil in Greek? " Luna chipped in.

Narcissa just smiled at Ginny and Luna but didn't say anything. She understood their surprise. They knew nothing about her. They only saw what she showed to the others. Her portrayal of being Lady Malfoy, the proud pureblood. They never saw her other side. The side where she showed compassion and love; where she cared for others. No one knew that side of her except her Draco.

Hermione just glared at her friends. Sometimes they just couldn't think before speaking. She sighed and looked at Narcissa. "Narcissa, if you don't mind could you tell us what had happened 25 years ago."

Narcissa looked at Hermione. She had never spoken about it to anyone all these years. She had told Draco everything because he was her son and she had to explain to him about the letter but to tell it to others were another thing. But, Hermione Granger was the one who wrote back to her. She was the one brought back all those old memories she had hidden away. Hermione could have not come to meet her when she realised who the letter was from but she didn't. She came regardless and was supporting her. Narcissa decided that if there was someone who deserved to know her story it was Hermione, and so, started her story.

"I had come to Italy with my friend Elena Caffarelli to spend my summer in Italy with her at her ancestral house. I was going to be 22 that year. Her manor was located in the outskirts of Verona. One day she was extremely busy with her then fiancé, Marco Zabini and I didn't feel like intruding on them. I thought it would be nice to go out and get some fresh air. I walked around for some time, when I came across a vineyard. I went inside it thinking I could go and buy some wine for my friends. It was there that I had met him for the first time, My Antonio Messieri. I really don't know how to explain to you about how I felt the first time when I saw him. He had blue eyes and a dark complexion, and there was something about him that captivated me. He was working in the vineyards. From then on, I used to go there and watch him from the side every day. It was after a week or so that he caught me staring at him. We started talking and later on started meeting each other every day. He would take me around the place and show me the highlights in and around Verona. It was he who showed me Casa di Giulietta for the first time. He taught me to speak Italian and I started teaching him English. Marco had decided to stay with Elena for a few days so she didn't doubt me when I said I was going out. She just thought I was giving them some space" She said. Narcissa saw that everyone was captivated by her story. The people at the table had her undivided attention. Well, everyone except Draco, he was looking as if someone was trying to skin him alive or something. She couldn't really expect more from him, so she just shrugged and continued.

"I didn't realise I had fallen love with my Antonio until I was head deep in it. I was terrified about it back then. He found it amusing that I didn't know how to cook or do anything in that manner. He used to say, I was treated like some kind of a spoilt princess as I didn't know to do any kind of job. He taught me how to cook you know. Every time I used to look at him, all I could think was how stupid all those things my parents taught me about muggles really were. It also scared me immensely. I didn't want to think how they would react to our relationship. The Blacks were one of the oldest pure-blooded families and truly believed in pureblood supremacy. The mere thought of how they would react when they learnt that I fell in love with a muggle, especially Bellatrix's reaction, made me shiver. I was even thinking of going into hiding forever with my Antonio."

"What happened then? How did you end up marrying Lucius Malfoy?" Ginny asked.

"I would never forget that day. It was the 10th of June, 1977, a Friday. The day before Antonio had asked me to marry him. He said we could elope and marry. Then nobody would be able to separate us. I had decided to go and tell him the truth about how I was a witch and the problems that would cause. I had asked him to meet me at our usual spot to tell him all about my family so that he would know exactly what he was getting into. I was about to leave when a house elf came and announced my father's arrival. I remember how scared I got right then. He said there was something important that he had to discuss with me. A lot of people back then liked to keep engagements between purebloods a secret before the time comes to announce it so that nobody tries to ruin it. One such secret was the marriage talks of Lucius and Andromeda."

Hermione, Ginny and Luna both gasped at that revelation. They all knew Andromeda personally but never had she said anything about a marriage between Lucius and herself. Narcissa didn't realise their shock and continued.

"My father told me how she went missing a few days back and two days back news had come that she had eloped and married a muggle born. They had tried to separate them but Dromeda being the smart one had done a bonding ceremony at her marriage. There was nothing to be done. He told me that Lucius was livid and took it as a personal insult. The only thing that had stopped Bellatrix from killing her was that my mother would be devastated by it. But that was not the case with Lucius; he wanted to kill them both. They were rumours back then that he had joined Voldermont and that he was among his inner circle. He had already announced revenge on the Black family as well. He told me there was only one way to stop Lucius and pacify him. I had to take Andromeda's place as the next Malfoy bride. The mere thought shattered my heart into pieces. My father told me that the only thing that was keeping Lucius at bay was me. Lucius was rather intrigued by the fact that he would now get me as his wife. Apparently, he thought I was more beautiful than Dromeda and would be a better wife. My father said it would save everyone. It would save the Black family from Lucius's wrath and would also save my sister from her impending death. He made me pack my bags and we left that very same day. I wasn't even able to say a goodbye to my Antonio. I didn't know what to do? I was so confused. On one side I had my Antonio to think about and on the other side; I had to think about my duty to my family. They needed me to save them from Lucius's wrath. That's when I remembered Antonio taking me to Juliet's house and telling me the legend about it. I went to write the letter that day while my father was setting up a portkey for us to head back to England. He kept his personal house elf to look out for me so that I wouldn't try to run away like Dromeda.

When I came back to England, they locked me up in my room restricting me from running away. They didn't want to take any chances. I was married to Lucius the very next week. When I married Lucius, it felt as if all my happiness were being sucked out. It was as if someone had sentenced me to life imprisonment. After the marriage, I started acting coldly to everyone. I never smiled at them, I sneered at them. I looked at everyone as if they were below me. Lucius thought it was me acting as the _perfect Malfoy wife_. My parents saw me and were shocked. They knew their Cissa could never become like that. They knew something was wrong. It became obvious to them that they had done something terrible to me. They tried to talk to me but I pushed them away. I didn't want anyone to know about my Antonio. Bellatrix understood that something was wrong somewhere but didn't bother about it much. Even, Andromeda got to know about my marriage and my personality change. She had come to me to apologize for what she did but I kicked her out instantly. I didn't even go and see her. She was the reason I lost my life. She got her love life whereas I lost my soul mate due to that. Everyone, even her thought I kicked her out for she had married a muggle born and insulted the family. Nobody ever saw that loving and compassionate Narcissa after that. It came back only after Draco was born and even then only he knew that side of me.

"I used to lay awake at nights and think about my Antonio. Had he waited for me all day at our spot that day? Did he searched for me? Did he forget me after that? Did he find love again? All I know was that I broke his heart that day. After receiving your letter, I just wanted to come back and apologize to him for breaking his heart all those years ago." A tear stained Narcissa said finally finishing her story.

* * *

Hermione was listening to Narcissa's story with rapt attention. She never thought that Narcissa would have gone through so much in her life. When she got to know that Narcissa was the one who wrote that letter, she just thought it would have been a passing fancy, a teenage love. She had never thought it would have been something of this magnitude.

Draco was not listening to his mother's story. She had already told her story to him when that letter had arrived. He was looking at the others reaction to his mother's tale. Granger was giving her undivided attention. Weaslette was looking as if she was meeting a whole new person and Loony was genuinely surprised. It took a lot to stump Loony like that and worst of all; they had tears rolling down hearing his mother's love story. Draco was getting a headache seeing them and just wanted to escape at the first chance.

"Narcissa, I don't know what to say. I never thought anyone's life could be so... so..." Hermione wasn't able to finish her sentence.

Narcissa knew what Hermione wanted to say and gracefully smiled at her. "It's ok Hermione; nobody was ever supposed to know."

"Do you know where your Antonio is now?" Luna asked.

"Antonio used to live in a small cottage near Valpolicella. We are going there tomorrow." The girls smiled at her when they heard that.

"Well, I think it's become quite late. Draco and I shall take our leave. Draco shall we?" she said.

Draco visibly relaxed at those words and stood up. Hermione insisted to come with them till the nearest apparition point much to Draco's disappointment. When they were far away from the inn, Narcissa turned and looked at Hermione. "Hermione, I want to apologize to you for what happened to you in the manor four years ago." Hermione flinched when she understood where this was going. "My sister was twisted in her own way. Azkaban had truly rotted her. My sister always did take things too far. It is sad to think that an innocent little girl had grown into such a devil. It was one of the worst days for Draco and me. I hope you forgive us."

"I would forgive you under one condition" Hermione said smiling at them.

Narcissa raised her eyebrows at this. "And what is that?"

"That I come with you to Valpolicella tomorrow."

_'No, no, no, no, no, no'_ Draco thought.

"Of course dear! You're more than welcome to join us" Narcissa said. They immediately started planning were to meet and their plans for tomorrow.

* * *

_**So, here you go the third chapter. Do tell on how you felt about this chapter... **_


End file.
